CTF15CBCR Hotpoint Refrigerator - Instructions

I applied some tips learned by reading other reviews. So before I started I grabbed my trusty vise grip pliers and a small screw driver. I locked onto the switch actuator, the part that the refrigerator door pushes in, with the vise grips and pulled on it just hard enough to get the screw driver inserted in the right side to push in the catch clip so the switch could be pulled out further each time the catch clip was depressed to the next detent. Then I used the screw driver on the left site to encourage the switch past the detents on the left and very quickly the switch was out of the mount. The wires from the refrigerator pulled out with the old switch. I unplugged the old switch from the wires and plugged in the new switch and shoved the new switch back into the mount, wiggled it a couple of times to make sure it was secure and the job was done. Once I applied the vise gripes at first, the whole job took less than a minute.

My husband put on the defrost timer. At first I thought the part was not going to fix the problem. After about 5 hours my refrigerator was still warm. I went to work and when I got home that evening my refrigerator was cooling and down to 28 degrees. So if you replace this part wait at least 12-24 hours. Give it time to stablize. My husband says it has to go through its cycle. It works on a 24 hour timer. My refrigerator is working fine and this has saved me alot of money. My husband says, once you put on the timer you may have to use a flat screwdriver and turn the small dial clockwise one click to start it. He removed the kick grill and replaced the part. Dont forget to shut breaker off to replace this part. Turn power back on and start the timer. We are so happy that we now have a working refrigerator.

popped off front grille, removed 2 screws for bracket, then had to remove one screw for timer. unplugged old timer, reversed procedure, all works.

Removed 2 phillips head screws to remove ice maker (could have just loosened them)
Pulled fan off of shaft
Removed 2 phillips head screws on motor bracket , disconnected three motor wires & removed motor.
reversed process to install new motor & fan blade.
Space was a little tight for two hand and arms, but do-able.

Reading other after action write-ups I diagnosed the problem to be either the defrost timer or defrost thermostat so I decided to replace both. The timer was hard to find. Turns out it was inside the kickplate grill which made it hard to demount and remount while maneuvering the wire connector around. Just took a few minutes longer than expected. The thermostat was inside the freezer compartment requiring the refrig to be off and defrosted (heavy ice buildup on the coils confirmed diagnosis). Had to cut old thermostat wires and reattach new with crimp style wire nuts (provided with thermostat). Directions said to use silicone sealant in wire nuts - NOT provided. Need to attach new thermostat on top of coils with tie wrap (not provided). Overall reasonably easy with great results. Parts arrived very fast.

Look were timer was located, in my refigerator is next to the dial to ajust the temperature. used a screwdriver to get panel off. replaced timer then used a straight screwdriver to advance timer to turn on compessor . monitor temperature . checked out.

Poped out with screwdriver the old swithch and unplugged the two wires. Plugged in the wires to the new swithch and pushed it back in the hole where the old switch was before.

Turned off the refridgerator. Took everything out of the freezer compartment & put into ice chest with pleanty of ice on top. Removed 2 screws holding the ice maker in place & placed ice maker aside. Removed shelf. Removed one screw on back plate, pushed up on the holding tabs at the top of the back plate & removed the back plate. Removed 3 screws holding the motor bracket in place along with the 3 wires. Installed new motor & used the wire extensions provided due to the electrical connections on the new motor being on the opposite side. Had to bend one wire tab down to clear the motor bracket. Turned refridgerator back on to ensure correct rotation on the fan. Reinstalled back plate & ice maker & shelf. Waited 30 minutes before putting food items back in freezer compartment.

While the switch did last for 9 years, the design is poor due to the failure mode. The failure should be to fail off or not able to turn on the lights which would be inconvenient but would not warm the refrigerator contents. Arcing at the contacts eventually caused the switch to "weld" closed. It is not obvious that this is occurring so it took some time to recognize why the temp inside the ref was high while the freezer was OK. Replacing the switch was easy once it was recognized as the problem. All that was required to replace the switch was to remove the screws holding a fiber cover and then pulling off the aluminum cap which covered the switches. Unplug the switch an squeeze the keeper on the switch to release it and pull down. Pop the replacement switch in place and plug the wires harness back in. All in all it took much less time to replace than it has to write this up. T Pope

The temperture control was mounted on the back wall of the refrigerator. One screw and a couple of tabs appeared to be the only attachments. After removing the screw, the freezer control appeared to be an issue since it was also attached to other parts. A little careful pushing revealed that the control knob simply snapped into the cover over the thermastat. Once unsnapped the thermastat and it's plastic cover were only attached by the three electricl connections. Pulling them loose off the terminals left the unit free. Simply examining how the old thermastat was mounted in the cover, and replacing it, and then reinstalling it in the frig was as breeze. All was well again.

The existing light switch was very hard to remove. I ended up having to grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Once it was out, it was very easy to put in the replacement and it seems to be working fine.

easy as 1.2.3 remove and replace before even thinking. just to let you know i also do this for a living but it is one of the most difficult thing when you have to stop and fix your own

as described, I used a thin screwdriver to wedge in and pull down existing, broken switch. I was able to pull it down about a 1/4 inch, but wasn't quit able to disegage it until I gripped it with pliers. I then pulled it out, unplugged the old switch, plugged in the new switch, and carefully tucked the wires back into the fridge and snapped the new switch into place.

10 minutes total.

i put a new evaporator motor in and now it works fine

This is a built-in unit. Remove the external bezel at the top of the unit. Reach through the unit and unplug the frig. On the compressor unit, you'll see a vertical metal panel. Remove the metal panel and the timer is right behind it. Remove one wire at a time and switch it to the new timer. Remove timer and replace with new one.

Just an added comment, GE Service wanted to put an "ice kit" into my unit. The full repairs would have cost $1,000. While I described how to replace the defrost timer, the problem was the tray heater. But that's another story.